Apparatus for opening doors



2 Sheets-Sheet l.

G. H. MAETZEL;

APPARATUS FOR OPENING DOORS.

(No Model.)

Patented Nov. 18,1888.

Wifinesses.

his fl torneys,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. H. MAETZEL.

APPARATUS FOR OPENING DOORS.

No. 892,620. Patented Nov. 13,1888.

minesses.

N. PETERS, Pholn-[ilhomhnn wanhin mn. D, C.

ATENT tr enoaen n. MAETZEL',

OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR OPENING oooas.

$PEC'IPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,620, dated November 13, 1888.

Application filed May 28, 1888. Serial No. 275,342.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. MAETZEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at O0- lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatuses for Operating Doors, of which the following is a full and exact description, reference being had to the ac companying drawings, making part of this specification. p

This invention relates to improvements in apparatuses for operating doors, and more especially for operating the doors of cells of jails and like structures; and it has for its objcct to provide a simple and eflicient means for opening and closing doors from a point remote, either singly or jointly; to form a looking attachment which may be operated upon all or part of the cell-doors simultaneously from a point remote; to provide means for preventing the locking attachments being released during the absence of the person in charge, and to form an indicator which will show what cells are in position to be operated.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view showing the attachments as applied to two cells, the one being open and in position to be operated, and the other closed and out of gear with the operatingshaft. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of a tier of cells, showing the operating mechanisms in the operating-room and the case in which the flexible connections for locking the cells are hung. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the mechanism for opening and closing the doors.

For convenience of description to designate the two cells shown in drawings, I will affix to the letters of the parts applied to one of the cells the numeral 1, showing at a glance by reading the drawings the position of the parts at the completion of their two operations opening and closing.

The letters A A designate the cells, which in the majority of cases are constructed of stone, and are provided with the doorways B B. The hinges for the doors, as heretofore constructed have been set in the stone at the side of the doorway by the usual method of boring holes, setting the hinge .in place, and pouring melted metal in the said holes to retain the hinges in place. The door is mounted upon these hinges and locked when closed by (No model.)

various known methods. Some of the difificulties attending this mounting of the doors are that in case of a'defective pouring of the metal the hinge is easily forced from its hold in the wall by pressure applied from within, and that the manipulation incident to this method of hanging the hinges is quite expensive. It is to obviate these difficulties that I have provided the method for hanging the door shown in the drawings.

At the hinge side of the doors 0 O, which are constructed of iron and braced to withstand a great amount of strain, I secure by riveting the angle-bars D D, which extend the whole length of the door. The remaining flange of the angle bars is riveted to the square bars E E, which are mounted at the lower end in socket bearings and passed through bracket-bearings near the top of the cells. The socket-bearings are bolted to the floor and the bracket-bearings to the side of the cells. The bracket-bearings are generally placed out of the reach of the occupant of the cell, and in some cases are placed over the top, and there screwed down. This form of binge is very strong, and the fastenings are out of reach of the occupants of the cells, while at the same time forming a very steady hinge.

The attachments for operating the doors to open and close them are secured to the top of the hingebar and rest over the cell in the space between the upper andlower tiers. The lever ll F is set on the square shoulder at the top of the hinge-bar E E, and is provided at the end removed from the said bar with the slot G G. Operating in the slot is a pin, H, which is upset from the sliding block I. The sliding block is I-shaped. The channels fitting over the sides of the guide-bars are bolted in position, as shown, the edges extending into the channels of the sliding block. Attached to the sliding block is the endless cable L L, which passes over the pulleys M and N and is provided with the tightening-swivel m. The pulleys M M are mounted in bearings, and are provided with the beveled pinion O O, by means of which the pulley M M is operated. By means of this mechanism, when the pulley M is rotated so as to draw the sliding block I toward the opening edge of the door, as shown in drawings, the lever F, being engaged by the piece H, is drawn in the same direction, thereby turning the hinge so as to throw the door open, as shown in Fig. 1, cell A, and when the rotation of the pulley is reversed it draws, by means of the cable L, the block I in the opposite direction, so that thelever is thrown back and the door closed, as in cell A of Fig. 1. I do not in this construction limit myself to the pulleys and cable as shown, but in some cases use sprocket-wheels and link-chains to substitute the pulley and cable. I prefer this construction in cases in which I do not use a supplemental lock, in order to form a rigid lock which will not permit of the possibility of applying enough force to the door to slide the cable over the pulleys, and thereby releasing the occupant. In ordinary cases, however, the cable and pulleys I find sufficient.

Passing close in front of all of the pulleys O O is a shaft mounted in bearings, and the end of which is provided with a beveled cogwheel extending into the operatingroom, which, as shown in the drawings, is at the end of the tier of cells. Splined upon this shaft in position to gear with the pinions O O are the beveled cog-wheels R R. Upon the opposite side of the said pinion, and loosely mounted on the shaft P, so as to allow the same to turn within it, are the beveled cogwheels S S. These wheels R and S are held an equal distance apart by the parallel levers TT, which have yoke ends engaging collars U upon the said wheels and are fulcrumed, as shown, in bearings, Fig. 1. To the rear of the wheels R It, and secured rigidly upon the shaft P, are boxes V, in which are placed coil-springs resting against the said wheels and tending to force them forward into engagement with the pinions O 0. To counteract this tendency the ends of the parallel levers T T are attached to the wires Wand W.

. By means of these wires the wheels R and R are disengaged from thepinions Qand Q by draw- :ing them over the pulleys \V and securing them upon hooks arranged in the case \V in the operating-room, as shown in Fig. 2 of drawings. In this View the wire W is free, and the operator can see the door of cell A is in position to be operated, and that the wire \V is drawn and secured on its hook in the case, showing that cell A is not in position to be operated when the shaft is turned.

The wheel S is provided in the under side with a slot,in which is inserted the end of the pin a. This pin is secured rigidly to the frame of the cell and prevents the wheel S from turning. With this arrangement of the parts,when the wheel R is thrown out of engagement with the pinion Q (1),,the wheel S is thrown into engagement. In this position it would be impossible to open the door of the cell, as the pinion attached to the pulleys M M could not turn while engaged by the wheels S S, as shown in Fig. .l cell A, thus securely locking the door.

The opening and closing of the doors when the wheels R R are in engagement is accomplished by a wheel, a, in the operating-room.

This wheel is suitably geared to the pinion X at the end of the shaft 1?, as shown, and is pro vided with indicators, a simple form of which is shown in Fig. 2 of drawings, for indicating when the doors are opened and when closed. The arrows indicate the direction of the rotation of the wheel to accomplish either end.

Then it is desired to open any one cell when all are closed without affecting the others, this is accomplished by these attachments by opening the ease IV and releasing the wire for releasing the levers T of the cell it is desired to open. When these levers are so released, the spring in the box V forces the vyheel R into and the wheel S out of engagement with the pinion O. The wheel :4 is then rotated in the direction shown by arrow until the indicator designates that the cell is open. It is apparent, also, that the door may be locked by these attachments in any position. For instance, when more ventilation is desired in any one ecll,the door of that cell is only partly closedsay to within siX inchesand locked in that position, while the remaining cells are closed complete by continuingthe operation.

Vhat I claim is,

1. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, mechanism for operating the lever, consisting of a cable attached to the end of the said lever and pulleys for operating the cable, and a mechanism for operating the said pulleys from a point remote, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, a mechanism for operating the lever, consisting of a pin for engaging the lever, a pulley for operating the pin, and intermediate connections between the pin and pulley, and a mechanism for operating the said pulley from a point remote, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, a mechanism for operating the lever, consisting of a cable attached to the end of the said lever for operating the same and pulleys for operating the cable, and a mechanism for operating the pulleys from a point remote, consisting of a shaft and gear-wheels mounted upon the shaft and meshed with the pulleys, said shaft extending to the operating-room and provided with means for being rotated, substantially as de scribed.

4. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, a mechanism for operating the said lever to operate the door, a shaft provided with gears meshed with the said mechanism to operate the same, and. suitable connections for throwing the said mech anism into and out of gear with the shaft, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, a mechanism for operating the said lever to operate the door, a shaft provided with gears meshed with the said mechanism to operate the same, a spring for forcing the gears into engagement with the said mecl1anism,levers engaging the said gears, and flexible connections attached to the said levers for operating them to throw the said gears out of engagement with the said mechanism, substantially as set forth.

6. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors in series, the combination of levers attached to the doors at the hinge side, mechanism for operating the levers, consisting of a cable attached to the end of the said levers, pulleys for operating the cables, and a continuous shaft geared to each of the said mechanisms, substantially asdescribed,whereby all the doors may be opened or closed at one operation.

7. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, a mechanism for operating the said lever to operate the door, a shaft provided with gears meshed with the said mechanism, a clutch for holding the said mechanism rigid, and suitable connections for operating the said clutch at a point remote, substantially as set forth.

8. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, a mechanism for operating the said lever to operate the door, a shaft provided with gears meshed with the said mechanism, a spring for forcing the gears into engagement with the said mechanism, a clutch for holding the said mechanism rigid, a lever connected to the said gear and the said clutch for throwing one out of gear as the other is thrown into gear with the said mechanism, and suitable connections for operating the lever at a point remote, substantially as de scribed.

9. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors in series, the combination of levers attached to the doors at the hinge side, mechanisms for operating the said levers, a shaft provided with gears meshed with the said mechanisms, springs for forcing the gears into engagement with the said mechanisms, levers engaging the said gears, and separate flexible connections attached to each of the said levers for causing them to throw the said gears out of engagement with the said mechanisms, substantially as described.

10. In an apparatus for opening and closing doors, the combination of a lever attached to the door at the hinge side, a mechanism for operating the said lever to operate the door, consisting of a pin engaging the lever, acable attached to the pin, pulleys for operating the cable, provided with beveled pinions, a shaft provided with gears for engaging the said pinions and adapted to be rotated, clutches for engaging the said pinions and preventing their moving, a lever engaging both the saidgears on the shaft and clutch, a spring for forcing the said gears into engagement with the said pinions, and a flexible connection for throwing the said gears out of engagement with said pinions, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of May, A. D. 1888.

GEORGE H. MAETZEL.

Wi tn esses:

DANIEL KRUMM, HENRY KROPP. 

